"A builder who severed an artery in his arm was refused a lift to hospital by police because they didn't want him to bleed in their car, he claims.

After Alan Cox fell into a window, a passing ex-paramedic gave him minutes to live and called 999.

But when police arrived, they said it would be 90min before an ambulance got there and they couldn't take him because the car would have to be cleaned.

'I'm disgusted,' said Mr Cox, of Monmouth, Wales.

He was taken to hospital by his son. Police said lifts were 'not a primary function'."

That last quotation says it all - "not a primary function", presumably they think they would be better employed booking motorists for exceeding the speed limit by 3 mph or mothers for dropping an apple core in a park or anything other than serving the public and detecting real crime.

"McCain's critics are offended that he raised the issue of William Ayers. What's astonishing is that Obama was himself not offended by William Ayers.

Moreover, the most remarkable of all tactical choices of this election season is the attack that never was. Out of extreme (and unnecessary) conscientiousness, McCain refused to raise the legitimate issue of Obama's most egregious association -- with the race-baiting Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Dirty campaigning, indeed."

Delicious.com reveal the newspaper sites with the most links from the BBC Editors blog. You will be shocked to learn that the list of the top four is as follows:Guardian 56Telegraph 31Independent 24Mail 18

No other paper received over 6 links.

Now why would the BBC have more links to the Guardian than any other paper and so many to the Independent? Could it be that they are the two most left of centre newspapers? I wonder how many of the links to the Mail are critical or sneering and how that compares to the links to the Guardian and Independent?

Maybe I'll find the time to do a links:readership calculation, somehow I think the Independent will rank rather high on that basis.

"One most Fridays when parliament is sitting BBC2’s “Daily Politics” programme announces the results of its latest ComRes poll on matters of current concern. This generally gets picked up by other parts of the media who treat it, quite naturally, like any other ComRes political poll. It’s not and the BBC should say so.

For the Daily Politics polls have one fundamental difference compared with the standard ComRes voting intention surveys - there’s no effort to ensure a politically balanced sample which almost inevitably means that its skewed towards Labour supporters.

In every single ComRes voting intention poll since they introduced past vote weighting the influence of Labour supporters has had to be scaled back when working out the final figures - yet the BBC allows its political surveys on matters a significant current political interest to be carried out without this adjustment.

It’s been known since the early 90s that a disproportionate number of Labour supporters respond to unsolicited randomised polling phone calls. Who knows the reason? Ipsos-MORI think it’s because they get too many public sector workers answer the phone. Whatever - those involved in polling recognise the issue and do something about it."

Now why would the BBC choose a polling method that benefited the Labour party?

I commend this article from the Waendel Journal about this Labour government's obsession with speed and drink-driving:

"In 2006 excessive speed was reported in 15% of all accidents and in 26% of fatal crashes. In the current figures given by the Department for Transport (2007), drink-driving was a factor in 6% of all accidents and 16% of road deaths.

The figures are too high. But what is being done about the causes of the 74% of fatal crashes where excess speed was not a factor and the 84% of fatal crashes where alcohol was not a factor? Why is there this relentless focus on speed and alcohol when failure to look properly, driver or rider error or poor reactions and losing control of a vehicle or motorbike were the overwhelming contributory factors in deaths and serious injuries on our roads?"

Australia joind China, North Korea etc. How long before the UK joins them, after all it will be for the sake of the children - "will nobody think of the children".

"THE Federal Government is planning to make internet censorship compulsory for all Australians and could ban controversial websites on euthanasia or anorexia.

Australia's level of net censorship will put it in the same league as countries including China, Cuba, Iran and North Korea, and the Government will not let users opt out of the proposed national internet filter when it is introduced.

Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy Minister Stephen Conroy admitted the Federal Government's $44.2 million internet censorship plan would now include two tiers - one level of mandatory filtering for all Australians and an optional level that will provide a "clean feed", censoring adult material."

Thursday, 30 October 2008

John McCain has released 1,173 pages of medical reports, Barack Obama has issued a 276 word summary letter. Does Barack Obama have something to hide? Are we even allowed to ask that question without being accused of being a racist?

Meanwhile Sarah Palin is being hounded by various media outlets for her full medical records, I haven't noticed any such interest in Barack Obama's medical records.

Just like his birth certificate and educational records most of the US media seems to be operating under some sort of code of omerta.

Excellent work - Ross and Brand as Brady and Hindly. The media over reaction has been extreme, but I can't help think that the BBC have emphasised this story to draw attention away from Peter Mandelson and Gordon Brown's troubles.

The BBC have a short interview with Peter Mandelson on their website, do watch the piece of video at the top of their page. You will hear Peter Mandelson ignoring the questions about whether he discussed aluminium tariffs with Oleg Deripaska and you will see that famous Mandelson thin lipped smile. I wonder if the interviewer, Richard Galpin, will find himself being posted to St Helena soon?

Maybe someone could hold Peter Mandelson and Gordon Brown to account for not answering questions that are posed to them. Maybe Jeremy Paxman could summon the tone and persistence he used when famously interrogating Michael Howard. Maybe the BBC could actually do some hard news investigating rather than obsessing about two overpaid pillocks.

It makes a change for this government to look to Animal Farm rather than the more usual 1984 for its George Orwell inspired legislation, but today's news that "Prospective MPs may no longer have to give their full address when standing for office, under plans being considered by the government." is an example. Apparently

"the government had to make sure voters "have the information they need" while ensuring MPs, candidates and their families "have the privacy they need"."

"I am determined that as a country we never return to the instability, speculation, and negative equity that characterised the housing market in the 1980s and 1990s. Volatility is damaging both to the housing market and to the economy as a whole. So stability will be central to our policy to help home owners. And we must be prepared to take the action necessary to secure it. I will not allow house prices to get out of control and put at risk the sustainability of the recovery."

That's Louis Farrakhan the ever pleasant Supreme Minister of the Nation of Islam:

"You are the instruments that God is gonna use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn’t care anything about. That’s a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."

Will the US media or the BBC report these comments? Of course not as Barack Obama in their eyes could well be the messiah.

The BBC continue to lead with the in-house story rather than Gordon Brown's avoidance of answering David Cameron's question at yesterday's PMQs or Peter Mandelson's refusal to four times answer a simple question about whether he discussed cutting tariffs with Mr Deripaska.

I wonder why the BBC have chosen these priorities for their news coverage.

Is the story of Russell Brand's resignation and Jonathan Ross's apology really the biggest news story in the UK? The BBC certainly think so as it accounted for over half of the Radio 4 7 o'clock news complete with serious tones of voice. Surely the fact that the US has cut interest rates by a third from 1.5% to 1% is of rather more importance, let alone Gordon Brown's dire performance at PMQs today when he refused to answer a single one of David Cameron's questions.

Take a look at this BBC report and check-out the screen expanding bug - you have got to love Microsoft...

Here is a rather more polished demonstration of Windows 7

For the geeks amongst you this is a video showing bits from each of the major iterations of Windows from 1.01, through 2.03, 3.0, 3.1, Windows For Workgroups 3.11, 95, NT Workstation 3.51, NT Workstation 4.0, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista. How many have you worked on? My tally would be 12 out of 14, I was outside of the Microsoft operating system and then was on DOS for a long time before moving to Windows v 3.0. Ah the different iterations of DOS, happy days... and as for CP/M...

So said Barack Obama's campaign team when asked why they were accepting untraceable donations. Read the full story at The Washington Post. Revealling and of course not likely to covered by the pro-Obama press and media.

I hear that the Icelandic-owned Sterling Airways has cancelled all of its flights, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at London Gatwick and thousands stranded across Europe.

Meanwhile the German airline Lufthansa is to take over the UK carrier BMI. This will give Lufthansa the second-largest number of flights into and out of London's Heathrow, the highest number belonging to British Airways.

Melanie Phillips has written a must read article for The Spectator, do read the whole powerful piece but here is an extract:

"At NRO Mark Levin identifies a terrifying historical echo when he shudders that, such is the tide of irrationality running in this campaign, the American public appears to be falling under the cult-like spell of an authoritarian demagogue. He is surely correct. For all Obama’s laid-back, attractive appearance this election is being fought in an atmosphere of menace. Menace in the way ACORN is intimidating voters into multiple registrations. Menace in the way criminal donations to the Obama campaign have been institutionalised. Menace in the serial lies being told by Obama, Biden and the campaign rebuttal team. Menace in the way the few remaining proper journalists such as Stanley Kurtz are finding sources of information shut down and themselves shut out when they attempt to probe Obama’s deeply dubious associations. Menace in the smears and hysterical abuse directed at anyone who questions The One. Menace in the threat of violence if Obama doesn’t win. Menace in the pre-emptive smear that the only thing that could bring about an Obama defeat is the inherent racism of the American voters – a smear that potentially identifies all those who vote against him as public enemies."

Melanie Phillips and Mark Levin are correct. On a smaller scale, I am going out to dinner with two old school friends (both decidedly left of centre); whilst they feel free to demean Conservative politics in front of me, it will not be acceptable for me to express doubts about the sainted Barack Obama. Should I try and enlighten them or do I leave them happy in their ignorance?

Not heard of Dorothy Tillman, well you should have. The Chicago Daily Observer can bring you up to speed on this "lady" and her relationship with Barack Obama. Unfortunately before you get to that part of the article you will have to wade through a summary of the current legal position of some other of Barack Obama's friends:

"In Detroit, Obama’s pal, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has plead guilty to an assortment crimes and resigned his office to begin a prison term. Closer to home, convicted political fixer Tony Rezko is due to be sentenced shortly before election day. Reports have indicated that Rezko has begun cooperating with prosecutors in an effort to reduce his sentence. Federal investigators have also conducted a search of the home of Will County Executive Larry Walsh, who served with Obama in the Illinois Senate. Walsh was one Obama’s poker playing friends and questions have been raised about the number of federal grant dollars that Obama showered upon Will County after meeting with lobbyists employed by Walsh."

Presidential material? Well if you remember Bill Clinton fondly then I suppose Barack Obama might be.

Here's a short extract from the rest of the article about Dorothy Tillman:

"In 1991, during the middle of redistricting negotiations, Tillman shocked her colleagues by brandishing a gun during the heated discussions on the aldermanic map. Apparently, Tillman was able to obtain the ward boundaries and election precincts that she desired without bloodshed. Tillman made further headlines during 2000 when she created a controversy by demanding that the Palmer House remove two waiters from a banquet that she sponsored and replace the servers with two African American waiters. Tillman, who made herself a career out of decrying discrimination at every opportunity, was promptly denounced as a bigot. Even Mayor Richard M. Daley rebuked her in a public statement."

As the Chicago Daily Observer wonders:

"One question that Obama definitely does not want to be aired is whether or not he supports slave reparations payments to the same degree as does his friend Dorothy Tillman? It is an open question. Which Obama can you believe? The radical race demagogue of his two books or the nuanced and posturing candidate on the campaign trail? It is a controversial and divisive issue that Obama cannot afford to discuss."

I, for one, would like to know the truth about this matter like so many others, but team Obama have all but closed down debate on the facts about Barack Obama and left the masses with empty slogans to cheer and repeat ad nauseum.

Barack Obama's campaign supporters just get nicer and nicer. Here is the latest news from Indiana where:

"Secretary of State Todd Rokita said Monday that his office has found evidence of “multiple criminal violations, including possible state and federal racketeering laws” in connection with fraudulent voter registration applications filed in Lake County.

Rokita said many registration applications filed by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, had incomplete information or indications of fraud or forgery."

Isn't it odd how the US MSM and the BBC are trying to ignore the ACORN story, it is almost as though they want Barack Obama elected regardless of what methods are used.

I have blogged before about Gordon Brown's avowed wish to mark the end of "celebrity culture"; here I remarked upon his comments about Shilpa Shetty and his drinks with Kylie Minogue, here I blogged about the celebs that he had invited to Chequers, here I blogged about his appearance at an awards ceremony, here I blogged about his anniversary message to the Countdown TV programme and here I blogged about his rumoured offer of a job to GMTV's Fiona Phillips. More recently I blogged about Derek Draper's comment about Gordon Brown:

"He also shies away from today's celebrity culture, thinking much of it schmaltzy and insincere."

That's the Derek Draper married to GMTV's Kate Garraway, that is.

Anyway, I see that Gordon "quickly onto the bandwagon" Brown has now issued an opinion about the Jonathan Ross & Russell Brand story. The BBC dutifully report that

"PM Gordon Brown has criticised Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross for their "inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour" on Brand's radio show.

He said the BBC and watchdog Ofcom must take "appropriate action" over four prank calls made to actor Andrew Sachs and broadcast on 18 October.

...

"This is clearly inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour, as is now widely recognised," Mr Brown said.

"Ofcom have said they will investigate the matter and it is for the BBC, the BBC Trust and Ofcom to take any appropriate action.""

"Listening to the Today programme this morning I heard an item which shocked even cynical old Trixy. In summary, an author had a long standing arrangement with Hackney Library to launch his yet-to-be-published book, at their invitation. Just a small launch in a community facility for an author who takes a keen interest in local affairs.

So why did the council order the library to halt the plans? Because, in previous articles, the AUTHOR HAD BEEN CRITICAL of the Olympics.

AND?

...

...on what level does this mean he shouldn't be allowed to read some of his book in a local facility which he helps fund through his taxes? Along, of course, with the Olympics he dares to speak out against. Taxes don't take into account personal preferences of the payer, do they.

Who are these petty local government pen pushers who look longingly at the totalitarian measures our government are putting into place and seek to emulate them."

Well said, Trixy. The totalitarian instincts of so many politicians, national, local and of course supra-national, scare me - I really believe many of them would be capable of the sort of "policies" towards the general population that we hoped had died with the end of the Third Reich and the Soviet Union.

If you read the comments to some of my pieces on Philip J. Berg's case that Barack Obama is inelgible to serve as US President, you will see that I have an upset correspondent. He seems a little slow and so I have had to explain things to him over and over again. You can read his comments and my replies after this piece and this piece.

"smrstrauss" seems to place great reliance on factcheck.org "confirming" that Barack Obama's Hawaiian birth-certificate is legitimate. I have had to point out the links between Barack Obama and FactCheck.org.

As I said to "smrstrauss" -

"So the organisation that you and other trusting people are relying upon for "fair" fact checking is, as the left would say in the UK, "institutionally biased" in favour of Barack Obama."

"Clarification: The connection between Obama and Ayers is through the Chicago Annenberg Challenge that received money from the Annenburg Foundation, but the Chicago Annenburg Challenge Challenge and theAnnenburg Foundation are not directly connected philosophically. The earmark Senator Obama requested was for the Annenburg Foundation, which funded the Chicago Annenburg Challenge and also funds FactCheck.org. Obama is tied to both groups one via earmark, the other via direct participation, however, Ayers is not directly connected to FactCheck.org."

I hope that makes matters clear. Meanwhile the majority of the US media and the BBC in the UK push the 'vote Obama' "narrative" and "worry" that only white racism could prevent his election.

The truth about Barack Obama is emerging slowly but surely. He and his team have done a good job until recently in suppressing negative stories and crying racism when they do emerge but the tide cannot be held back forever. The latest story concerns a 2003 farewell party in Chicago at which Barack Obama lavished praise on the guest of honour, Rashid Khalidi a former mouthpiece for master terrorist Yasser Arafat. The National Review reports that:

"The party featured encomiums by many of Khalidi’s allies, colleagues, and friends, including Barack Obama, then an Illinois state senator, and Bill Ayers, the terrorist turned education professor. It was sponsored by the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), which had been founded by Khalidi and his wife, Mona, formerly a top English translator for Arafat’s press agency."

Do read the whole of that piece and then take a look at Gateway Pundit's piece on this matter which wonders (as does The National Review) why the LA Times might be keeping this video away from public view:

"the newspaper says it will not release the tape of Obama toasting radical Rashid Khalidi at a Jew-bash in Chicago".

As the National Review ask:

"Let’s try a thought experiment. Say John McCain attended a party at which known racists and terror mongers were in attendance. Say testimonials were given, including a glowing one by McCain for the benefit of the guest of honor ... who happened to be a top apologist for terrorists. Say McCain not only gave a speech but stood by, in tacit approval and solidarity, while other racists and terror mongers gave speeches that reeked of hatred for an American ally and rationalizations of terror attacks.

Now let’s say the Los Angeles Times obtained a videotape of the party.

Question: Is there any chance — any chance — the Times would not release the tape and publish front-page story after story about the gory details, with the usual accompanying chorus of sanctimony from the oped commentariat? Is there any chance, if the Times was the least bit reluctant about publishing (remember, we’re pretending here), that the rest of the mainstream media (y’know, the guys who drove Trent Lott out of his leadership position over a birthday-party toast) would not be screaming for the release of the tape?

Do we really have to ask?"

What are the odds on the BBC reporting this story or will they stick to Sarah Palin's wardrobe and reporting "plans" to assassinate Barack Obama. The bias of the US and UK media (especially the BBC) during this Presidential election campaign has been almost unbelievable, I would say criminal.

Various sites are now showing some "details" of Georgina Baillie aka Voluptua, Andrew Sachs' granddaughter and the subject of Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross's "humour". If you want to see what the fuss is about then Right Celebrity and The Daily Mail may be of assistance, as could Quintessential comedy. Alternatively, you could go straight to Voluptua's page Satanic Sluts where you will learn that Voluptua has Vital Stats of 36 26 36 (666) 5"5 and:

You will also find some photos that may not be safe for work (NSFW) but oddly appear not to be blocked by my content filtering software.

Regardless of how Georgina Baillie chooses to make her living, what Brand and Ross said was highly reprehensible and beyond decent limits.

My humble apologies for misspelling granddaughter as grandaughter in my original title for this piece. Interestingly this mistake has resulted in a large number of hits on this piece as a google.co.uk search for "Andrew Sachs grandaughter" puts this blog at position 2. Maybe I have stumbled on a trick to get up the Google rankings, using plausible misspellings!

Update:It appears that Google takes account of misspellings and I am at position 2 for Google searches for "Andrew Sachs granddaughter" as well. This is interesting and also means that as at 18:25 tonight (28 October) I have over 100 people "on" this blog, virtually all looking at this page. I am conflicted; whilst I appreciate the traffic, this is a serious political blog not a scandal sheet. New visitors, maybe you could assuage my feelings of guilt by reading a couple of my political articles whilst you are here...

"The slide towards authoritarianism is happening; right here, right now. The government is slowly taking control of what you eat, what you drink, who and how you fuck, what you can say and what you can eat. It is doing it in a slow, paternalistic way and I believe the politicians think they are acting in the best interests of the nation. But there is no positive outcome if this slide towards total state control is allowed to continue. The best case scenario is that you are allowed to live comfortably as long as you do not dissent; the simple truth is that a continuation of the drift towards authoritarianism means the day will come when you will not have the freedom to think or choose for yourself. The loss of freedom is like cancer; it will spread slowly but surely across all parts of society until our liberty has been utterly eaten away and we are left with nothing but a half-forgotten idea of what freedom was."

The Westfield Shopping Centre opens on Thursday 30 October and any one living near it or travelling past it on the A40, the Uxbridge Road or around Holland Park can expect jams, jams and more jams.

Westfield's site glibly promises

"Tube, bus, train, bike or car - however you prefer to travel, it really couldn't be easier to get to Westfield London. Two new stations (tube and rail) have been built, plus a new bus station right next door. You won't even have to carry your gorgeous new purchases home. Use our Home Delivery service and your bags will be delivered right to your doorstep."

Somehow I think the reality will be thousands of cars jamming up the Green and the Holland Park Roundabout and blocking my access to Notting Hill.

"A new shopping mall will transform the area. But will it raise standards enough to have an effect on house prices? ... A three-bedroom terrace house just to the south-east in sought-after Brook Green, W14, fetches around £800,000, easily £300,000 more than an equivalent property north of Goldhawk Road in Shepherd's Bush, W12. Only a few hundred yards separate the two postcodes, but it is an economic Grand Canyon.

But now there is a buzz in the petrol-fumed air, a sense that the long-promised property boom could finally be about to happen. And it is all because of a new shopping centre at White City, in the eastern corner of Shepherd's Bush, close to one of London's toughest housing estates.

The giant £1.6bn steel-and-glass Westfield London will be twice the size of Brent Cross, the massive centre off the capital's North Circular ring road. When it opens in 2008, it will hold more than 350 shops (including a "luxury" mall), 40 restaurants, a cinema and a gym. The Australian developers are also overhauling Shepherd's Bush Green and expect the scheme to trigger £1 billion of local regeneration, including new social and private housing....

Canny investors moved in as soon as the project began in earnest around 2000. A three-bedroom house north of the Goldhawk Road (once bandit country in property terms because of its transient, poor population) has gone up from £300,000 to £500,000 in that time.

American-born Chris Conklin has a knack of buying into areas just before a boom - first Notting Hill, then Queen's Park and now Shepherd's Bush. "The area really feels different to when we moved here three years ago," he says. "It was pretty scruffy and there were lots of 'For Sale' boards. Now there are virtually none and everyone wants to live here."

Even 18 months ago when properties in other areas struggled to make their asking price, he says that wasn't the case in W12. "Now prices are really moving again," he adds. Conklin has heavily invested in refurbishing his three-bedroom home in Stowe Road. It is for sale for £615,000, up from a typical £330,000 for an unmodernised house three years ago, through Faron Sutaria (020 8740 7766).

The Westfield London effect has accelerated in the past few weeks, since the coverage of the star-studded launch party. "There has been huge excitement, from locals and people outside the area," says Kerr. "That includes many who wouldn't have looked at Shepherd's Bush before. It will no longer be just a 'suburb' but a smart part of central London."

He claims properties sell in 48 hours - to investors, families and professionals. But how much of that is really due to the mall rather than the shortage of decent properties affecting buyers all over London?"

I wonder how happy the "canny investors" are now as house prices dive across London and they are stuck with a property in Shepherds Bush?

Philip Johnston in The Telegraph writes about Peter Mandelson, here's an extract:

"As Lord Mandelson said, in his position it was inevitable that he would meet industrialists, financiers and businessmen like Mr Deripaska. This is undoubtedly true, though why it is also necessary to go on holiday with them is not fully explained.

He promises to be more careful in future: by this he means more circumspect about those with whom he consorts, rather than less cavalier with the facts.

Indeed, this whole business has followed the template drawn up at the birth of "New Labour", of which Lord Mandelson was one of the proud parents. It does not necessarily tell outright lies (OK, it does, just not all the time) but nor does it ever tell the whole truth."

and how the Labour government are trying to justify and will try to keep on with the ID card scheme. What Philp Johnston does not explain is that the ID card scheme is all about the National Identity Register and further controlling the UK public.

Should someone take a read of the following extract from the Malicious Communications Act 1988 Section 1 as amended by Section 43 Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. It applies to offences committed from the 11th May 2001 onwards

"(1) Any person who sends to another person(a) a letter, electronic communication or article of any description which conveys(i) a message which is indecent or grossly offensive(ii) a threat or(iii) information which is false and known or believed to be false by the sender or(b) any article or electronic communication which is, in whole or part, of an indecent or grossly offensive nature, is guilty of an offence if his purpose, or one of his purposes, in sending it is that it should, so far as falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above, cause distress or anxiety to the recipient or to any other person to whom he intends that it or its contents or nature should be communicated.

(2) A person is not guilty of an offence by virtue of subsection (1)(a)(ii) above if he shows(a) that the threat was used to reinforce a demand made by him on reasonable grounds and(b) that he believed, and had reasonable grounds for believing, that the use of the threat was a proper means of reinforcing the demand.

(2A) In this section 'electronic communication' includes _(a) any oral or other communication by means of a telecommunication system(within the meaning of the Telecommunications Act 1984 (c12));

-----------------------------

Not long before someone makes a formal complaint to the police I would have thought?"

"A Halloween decoration showing a mannequin dressed as vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin hanging by a noose from the roof of a West Hollywood home is drawing giggles from some passers-by and gasps of outrage from others.

The mannequin is dressed in brunet wig, glasses and a red business suit. Another mannequin dressed as John McCain emerges from a flaming chimney."

Can you imagine the furore if an effigy of Barack Obama was shown hanging from a noose or emerging from flames? Double standards and the usual intolerance of the left.

A lot of people have been buying gold as a protection against the coming economic storm. Is that wise? Here's a comment I found on the Telegraph article below, read it and think about it. Are the predictions made completely unbelievable? How sure are you that it won't come to this?

"It seems likely that gold and silver prices will decouple from the official spot price as this crisis unfolds. Gold is already becoming harder to obtain in small quantities and premium prices are being charged for coins and small quantities of bullion. There is a gradual black market forming in gold which can only accelerate as the pace of economic collapse accelerates. The deflationary cycle that is unfolding can only be usurped by hyperinflation as governments try to print their way out of fiscal armageddon. The entire global financial system is insolvent, has been for dedcades, but the confidence required to sustain fraud on such a huge scale is gone. The system is irretrievably broken.

The danger of private possession of gold and silver is clear. Faced with total state failure, the government will ban ownership of gold and silver. Anyone purchasing precious metals will leave an electronic paper trail. The authorities will come knocking on the doors of anyone suspected of seeking a safe haven in precious metals. They will do whatever is necessary to take that wealth from the people, torture and murder included.

The solution for the state, seeking self preservation, will be the seizure of all asset wealth from the people, savings, pensions, investments, property and of course, gold and silver. No exit mechanism will be tolerated for the people.

We are facing the biggest seizure of private property in human history and the imposition of a totalitarian martial law state as all assets are seized as surety against our respective national debts.

Grim days ahead I'm afraid. Our aspirations for freedom, liberty and independence from state control will be severely tested in the next few years.

Right now, I can't see the general population being capable of resisting the inevitiable destruction of private property rights and the seizure of all wealth by the state. The End Days are upon us."

Not my words (and certainly not my spelling) but could the scenarios described come true?

"The financial crisis spreading like wildfire across the former Soviet bloc threatens to set off a second and more dangerous banking crisis in Western Europe, tipping the whole Continent into a fully-fledged economic slump.

Currency pegs are being tested to destruction on the fringes of Europe’s monetary union in a traumatic upheaval that recalls the collapse of the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992.

“This is the biggest currency crisis the world has ever seen,” said Neil Mellor, a strategist at Bank of New York Mellon.

Experts fear the mayhem may soon trigger a chain reaction within the eurozone itself. The risk is a surge in capital flight from Austria – the country, as it happens, that set off the global banking collapse of May 1931 when Credit-Anstalt went down – and from a string of Club Med countries that rely on foreign funding to cover huge current account deficits.

The latest data from the Bank for International Settlements shows that Western European banks hold almost all the exposure to the emerging market bubble, now busting with spectacular effect."

And if that doesn't scare you, then this from the same article should:

"The threat to Britain lies in emerging Asia, where banks have lent $329bn, almost as much as the Americans and Japanese combined. Whether you realise it or not, your pension fund is sunk in Vietnamese bonds and loans to Indian steel magnates. Didn’t they tell you?"

Don't believe what Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and the rest of the New Labour fools are telling you, the economy is f***ed, the Country is f***ed, the EU is f***ed and we are all heading for a breakdown in civil order - don't say that I didn't warn you...

Sterling suffered an appalling week on the foreign exchange markets last week, far worse than that which resulted from our ejection form the ERM on Black Wednesday in 1992. Sterling dropped over 10% last week compared with around 7.5% in 1992. In addition Sterling also fell by almost 4% in the week ending 4 October 2008 which makes the comparison even starker.

Of course the BBC will not make this comparison as they held Norman Lamont's fall from the ERM and Sterling's collapse to be the end of the Conservatives being able to boast about economic competence and they will not make that charge against Gordon Brown.

UPDATE: Between starting to write this post and publishing it Sterling has fallen another cent against the dollar... The UK economy is best placed to withstand the world economic recession?

Watch our ever more ridiculous Prime Minister defend his record at the start of this and marvel in the warmth of his reassuring genuine smile. The interview is from the BBC's Politics Show Scotland and so does concentrate a lot on the "Scottish" banks. Gordon Brown's face when dealing with the Peter Mandelson questions is worth looking at, he is so uncomfortable and unhappy and his attempts to look solemn when discussing the George Osborne question fail miserably as he starts to smirk. The end is a real Je ne regrette rien moment.

The Nikkei is down over 6% over night on increased worries about the extent of the global recession/depression. Meanwhile the Yen carries on strengthening as a result of the end of the carry trade. The carry trade was the process whereby traders borrowed the Yen and used it to buy currencies with higher interest rates. As worldwide interest rates drop to Japanese like levels traders have been unwinding the carry trade, ie: using other currencies to buy Yen, which has boosted the Japanese currency.

The strength of the Yen is seen as a problem by the other leading economic powers but what can they do to force it down?

Sunday, 26 October 2008

I think Orwellian covers his planned private army - the "civilian national security" organisation to be as well funded as the US Army and the Department of Peace and Non-Violence which will

"analyze existing policies, employ successful, field-tested programs, and develop new approaches for dealing with the implements of violence, including gun-related violence and the overwhelming presence of handguns."

and incorporate the creation of a Peace Academy which will

"(A) be modeled after the military service academies;(B) provide a 4-year course of instruction in peace education, after which graduates will be required to serve 5 years in public service in programs dedicated to domestic or international nonviolent conflict resolution."

Also there will be an "Assistant Secretary for International Peace Activities" who shall

"(1) provide for the training and deployment of all Peace Academy graduates and other nonmilitary conflict prevention and peacemaking personnel;

"A lawsuit filed by Democraticattorney Philip Berg alleging that Sen. Barack Obamais ineligible to be president was dismissed by a federal judge yesterday on grounds that Berg lacks standing to bring the lawsuit.

In a 34-page memorandum that accompanied the court order, the Hon. R. Barclay Surrick concludes that ordinary citizens can't sue to ensure that a presidential candidate actually meets the constitutional requirements of the office.

Surrick defers to Congress, saying that the legislature could determine "that citizens, voters, or party members should police the Constitution's eligibility requirements for the Presidency," but that it would take new laws to grant individual citizens that ability.

"Until that time," Surrick says, "voters do not have standing to bring the sort of challenge that Plaintiff attempts to bring."

Berg has maintained that uncertainty about how the U.S. does enforce the requirements of presidency may result in a constitutional crisis should an ineligible candidate win the office."

"The Pennsylvania Democrat who has sued Sen. Barack Obamademanding he prove his American citizenship – and therefore qualification to run for president – has confirmed he has a recording of a telephone call from the senator's paternal grandmother confirming his birth in Kenya.

The issue of Obama's birthplace, which he states is Honolulu in 1961, has been raised enough times that his campaign website has posted an image purporting to be of his "Certification of Live Birth" from Hawaii.

But Philip J. Berg, a former deputy attorney general for Pennsylvania, told the Michael Savage talk radio program tonight that the document is forged and that he has a tape recording he will soon release.

"This has been a real sham he's pulled off for the last 20 months," Berg told Savage. "I'll release it [the tape] in a day or two, affidavits from her talking to a certain person. I heard the tape. She was speaking [to someone] here in the United States.""

This story just wont go away, I will see if that tape is available online...

"Alistair Darling was alerted to the possibility of a meltdown of Icelandic banks 'weeks' before they collapsed, taking billions of pounds of British savers' cash invested in them.

A transcript of a private telephone conversation on October 7 between the Chancellor and an Icelandic government minister shows that Mr Darling had been 'very concerned' about the country's banks well before they failed.

In the transcript, published on the website of the Iceland Review magazine, Mr Darling accused Icelandic Trade Minister Bjorgvin Sigurdsson of misleading him 'a few months, weeks' earlier about the state of the Landsbanki, Kaupthing and Glitnir banks operating in the UK.

But damagingly for the Chancellor, the full record of the conversation shows that Mr Darling did not believe Mr Sigurdsson's reassurances at the time.

'We doubted what we were being told then and I am afraid we were right,' he said."

The Mail's report adds that:

"Vince Cable said the revelation was 'very disturbing' and called on the Chancellor to make a statement to the Commons tomorrow.

Mr Cable said: 'If it's true that the Government did know all about these problems and doubted Icelandic reassurances, this shifts the balance of responsibility. Mr Darling has to explain himself.'"

That is true, Alistair Darling must explain himself but what I want to know is did Alistair Darling inform Gordon Brown? If he didn't, why not and if he did why did Gordon Brown take no action then but invoke anti-terrorist legislation later?

Read The Mail's article about Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross's evil hoax calls to Andrew Sachs and wonder why the BBC pay these foul mouthed "entertainers" the fortunes that they do, in our name.

"The BBC could face prosecution over obscene phone calls that Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand made to 78-year-old Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs.

The controversial presenters left a series of lewd messages on Mr Sachs’s answerphone claiming, in shockingly explicit language, that Brand had had sex with his granddaughter, Georgina."

The last line of the article sums up the attitude of these "entertainers":

"Brand’s spokesman said they had nothing to add to the BBC’s comments, while Jonathan Ross’s agent did not return calls."

Jonathan Ross can be funny and his film reviews are fairly watchable but he is not as funny nor as clever as he thinks he is, and he is certainly massively overpaid by the BBC. Russell Brand makes Jonathan Ross look talented.

I received a comment on my blog that I reproduce here along with my reply:

"Blogger smrstrauss said...

Let us suppose you were right and that Obama was not born in Hawaii.

He WAS born in Hawaii. I’ve seen pictures of his birth certificate (or maybe certificate of live birth, I forget which), and there is a confirming notice in the Hawaii Advertiser. But suppose on a wild chance that this was wrong.

Suppose that this fact were to be proven before the election. Would this help make McCain elected president? No. It would merely make Joe Biden the presidential candidate of the Democratic party.

Would Biden win just like Obama would? Sure.

Would he win even BIGGER than Obama would? Maybe. You can’t call him inexperienced or a terrorist or a friend of Ayers, nor would people who vote against Obama because of his race or alleged Arab ties or alleged Moslem religion vote against Biden.

Biden would get all the votes of Obama and maybe a few more.

Suppose it was proven after the election. Would that make McCain the president? No. If the Congress really bought the fact that Obama was not born in the USA, and that therefore Obama was not eligible to be president (which is a stretch because it is controlled by Democrats), then Biden would be president.

So, what is the point?

26 October 2008 01:23"

My reply:

"I have published your comment because it is typical of the muddled thinking and faulty logic that pervades so much of the blogosphere.

First of all my article was reporting the latest in the legal battle of Philip J. Berg not my own beliefs.

Second I have explained in both of my pieces about this legal claim that I consider it a "conspiracy theory" and ask my readers to add salt to the reading process.

Third if Barack Obama dropped out before the elction that would not necessarily make Joe Biden the new candidate, there are Democratic Party procedures that could mean a third person (probably Hillary Clinton) would be elected presidential candidate whilst Joe Biden stayed as VP candidate.

Fourth you say "Would Biden win just like Obama would? Sure.". I would dispute this, are you saying that Barack Obama has not made the difference in this election and that any Democratic candidate could win in his place. Because I would argue that Joe Biden would not even make the top 20 Democratic party candidates.

Fifth you go on to claim that "You can’t call him inexperienced or a terrorist or a friend of Ayers, nor would people who vote against Obama because of his race or alleged Arab ties or alleged Moslem religion vote against Biden." True but I na d many others could point out that Joe Biden is rather a joke along the lines of a John Prescott in the UK. Someone prone to making "misspeaks" and verbal gaffes; if you want I am sure you could find many from this election campaign - just because the MSM don't report them doesn't mean they haven't happened.

Sixth your point about after the election is true but as I claim that any election won by Obama could (if the claims were true) be frauldulent, would you be happy with the election result standing?

Finally, if Barack Obama has nothing to hide why has he not released the documents that have been requested of him?"

Saturday, 25 October 2008

Philip J. Berg is claiming victory in his court case against Barack Obama and the DNC by virtue of their

"failure to timely respond to Requests for Admissions". he thus claims that: "Obama is “NOT QUALIFIED” to be President and therefore Obama must immediately withdraw his candidacy for President and the DNC shall substitute a qualified candidate.... I filed Requests for Admissions on September 15, 2008 with a response by way of answer or objection that had to be served within thirty [30] days. No response to the Requests for Admissions was served by way of response or objection. Thus, all of the Admissions directed to Obama and the DNC are deemed “ADMITTED.” Therefore, Obama must immediately withdraw his candidacy for President."

7. The COLB [Certification of Live Birth] posted on the website “Fightthesmears.com” is a forgery.

8. I was adopted by a Foreign Citizen.

9. I was adopted by Lolo Soetoro, M.A. a citizen of Indonesia.10. I was not born in Hawaii.

11. I was not born at the Queens Medical Center in Hawaii.12. I was not born at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Hawaii.

13. I was not born in a Hospital in Hawaii.14. I am a citizen of Indonesia.

15. I never took the “Oath of Allegiance” to regain my U.S. Citizenship status.16. I am not a “natural born” United States citizen.

17. My date of birth is August 4, 1961.18. I traveled to Pakistan in 1981 with my Pakistan friends.

19. In 1981, I went to Indonesia on my way to Pakistan.20. Pakistan was a no travel zone in 1981 for American Citizens.

21. In 1981, Pakistan was not allowing American Citizens to enter their country.22. I traveled on my Indonesian Passport to Pakistan.

23. I renewed my Indonesian Passport on my way to Pakistan.24. My senior campaign staff is aware I am not a “natural born” United States Citizen.

25. I am proud of my Kenya Heritage.26. My relatives have requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my first name.

27. My relatives have requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my last name.28. My relatives have requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my place of birth.

29. I requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my first name.30. I requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my last name.

31. I requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my place of birth.32. The document identified as my Indonesian School record from Fransiskus Assisi School in Jakarta, Indonesia is genuine.

33. I went to a Judge in Hawaii to have my name changed.34. I went to a Senator and/or Congressman or other public official in Hawaii to have my name changed.

35. I had a passport issued to me from the Government of Indonesia.36. The United States Constitution does not allow for a Person to hold the office of President of the United States unless that person is a “natural born” United States citizen.

37. I am ineligible pursuant to the United States Constitution to serve as President and/or Vice President of the United States.38. I never renounced my citizenship as it relates to my citizenship to the country of Indonesia.

39. I never renounced my citizenship as it relates to my citizenship to the country of Kenya.40. I am an Attorney who specializes in Constitutional Law.

41. Kenya was a part of the British Colonies at the time of my birth.42. Kenya did not become its own Republic until 1963.

43. I am not a “Naturalized” United States Citizen.44. I obtained $200 Million dollars in campaign funds by fraudulent means.

45. I cannot produce a “vault” (original) long version of a birth certificate showing my birth in Hawaii.46. My “vault” (original) long version birth certificate shows my birth in Kenya.

47. The only times I was to a Hospital in Hawaii was for check-ups or medical treatments for illnesses.48. Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii does not have any record of my mother, Stanley Ann Dunham (Obama) giving birth to me.

49. Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii does not have any record of my mother, Stanley Ann Dunham (Obama) giving birth to me.50. I was born in the Coast Province Hospital in Mombasa, Kenya.

51. I represented on my State Bar application in Illinois that I never used any other name other than Barack Hussein Obama.52. I went by the name Barry Soetoro in Indonesia.

53. My Indonesian school records are under the name of Barry Soetoro.54. I took an Oath to uphold the United States Constitution when admitted to the State Bar of Illinois to practice Law.

55. I took an Oath to uphold the United States Constitution when I was Sworn into my United States Senate Office.56. I hold dual citizenship with at least one other Country besides the United States of America.

DNC - Admitted:

1. The DNC nominated Barrack Hussein Obama as the Democratic Nominee for President.2. The DNC has not vetted Barrack Hussein Obama.

3. The DNC did not have a background check performed on Barrack Hussein Obama.4.The DNC did not verify Barrack Hussein Obama’s eligibility to serve as President of the United States.

5. The DNC admits Barrack Hussein Obama was born in Kenya.6. The DNC admits Barrack Hussein Obama is not a “natural born” United States citizen.

7. The DNC admits Barrack Hussein Obama was not born in Hawaii.

8. The DNC admits they have not inquired into Barrack Hussein Obama’s citizenship status.

11. The DNC admits the Credentials Committee has been aware of this lawsuit since August 22, 2008 as the lawsuit was faxed to our Washington D.C. Office on August 22, 2008. 12. The DNC admits their Credentials Committee failed to verify and/or inquire into the credentials of Barack Hussein Obama to serve as the President of the United States.

13. The DNC admits their Credential Committee’s Report failed to address the issues of Barack Hussein Obama’s ineligibility to serve as President of the United States.14.The DNC admits Howard Dean, Chair Person has and had knowledge Barack Hussein Obama was born in Kenya and ineligible to serve as the President of the United States.

15. The DNC admits Plaintiff and all Democratic citizens of the United States have been personally injured as a result of not having a qualified Democratic Presidential Nominee to cast their votes upon.16. The DNC admits Plaintiff and all citizens of the United States have a Constitutional Right to vote for the President of the United States and to have two (2) qualified candidates of which to choose from.

17. The DNC admits Plaintiff and all citizens of the United States have a Constitutional right to have a properly vetted Democratic Presidential Nominee of which to cast their vote.18. The DNC admits an FBI background check is not performed on the Presidential or Vice Presidential Candidates.

19. The DNC admits the United States Constitution does not allow for a Person to hold the office of President of the United States unless that person is a “natural born” United States citizen.20. The DNC admits they collected donations on behalf of Barack Hussein Obama for his Presidential campaign.

21. The DNC admits Plaintiff and Democratic citizens donated money based on false representations that Barack Hussein Obama was qualified to serve as the President of the United States.22. The DNC admits if Barack Hussein Obama is elected as President and allowed to serve as President of the United States in violation of our Constitution, it will create a Constitutional crisis.

23. The DNC admits Barack Hussein Obama took an Oath to uphold the United States Constitution.24. The DNC admits allowing a person who is not a “natural born” citizen to serve as President of the United States violates Plaintiff’s rights to due process of law in violation of the United States Constitution.

25. The DNC admits allowing a person who is not a “natural born” citizen to serve as President of the United States violates Plaintiff’s rights to Equal Protection of the laws in violation of the United States Constitution.26. The DNC admits the function of the DNC is to secure a Democratic Presidential Candidate who will protect Democratic citizen’s interests, fight for their equal opportunities and fight for justice for all Americans.

27. The DNC admits the Democratic National Committee has been promoting Barack Hussein Obama’s Presidential election knowing he was ineligible to serve as President of the United States."

I do love a good conspiracy theory and this is a good one... Is salt required or is there more than a kernel of truth to these claims?

The BBC have crossed a line with their coverage of the "Storm over Corfu". The pathetic justifications being offered by such as Steve Mawhinney are attracting appropriate derision.

The Conservatives must realise that the BBC will do anything to ensure a Labour victory at the next election and plan their campaign accordingly. Maybe every time a Conservative spokesman appears on a BBC "news" programme they could ask the questioner why the BBC is "institutionally biased" against the Conservative party - constant repetition might get the message across to the general public.

Poor Steve Mawhinney has tried to justify the BBC's appalingly biased coverage of the Mandelson/Osborne/Deripaska story and the comments in response are mostly a joy to read. The BBC have been well and truly caught out exhibiting blatant bias in their coverage of this story and I hope they will be made to pay for their crime.

Read Steve Mawhinney's justification of the BBC's reporting of the "Storm over Corfu" and the responses here.

"Before Nat's letter was published, I had been informed that the Opposition planned to ask ministers about a taped conversation possessed by the FBI, which explains why Deripaksa's entry visa to America was revoked. As I revealed in The Sunday Telegraph at the weekend, it was said to be an "explosive" telephone call."

The Times online publishes a statement from Lord Mandelson that I reproduce here, I have highlighted the parts that raise more questions than they answer:

"Sir, During the course of this week a number of journalists have asked me about meetings with Oleg Deripaska.

During the weekend when I moved from Brussels to London and prior to me being admitted to hospital for an urgent medical procedure, a statement was released to the press which said I had had meetings with Mr Deripaska in 2006 and 2007. Some people formed the reasonable view, therefore, that my first meeting with him was in 2006. This is not the case: to the best of my recollection we first met in 2004 and I met him several times subsequently*.

The Director-General for Trade in the European Commission, David O’Sullivan, has confirmed in a letter to The Sunday Times on October 16 that I made no personal intervention to support the commercial interests of Mr Deripaska. Mr O’Sullivan explained in his letter that in respect to both the nine-year debate in the EU over tariffs on raw aluminium and to anti-dumping duties on Russian aluminium the decisions were made “after the usual consultation procedures had taken place, including with industry and all 27 European member states, and were based on sound facts”.

Perhaps I should add that naturally I met a great number of business people round the world as EC Trade Commissioner. I think this adds to what I bring to my job now. I should point out that in managing my department’s business as Secretary of State I will, of course, in line with the Ministerial Code, ensure that no conflict of interest, or perception of such, arises from any of my past or indeed future contacts. In this I will be taking advice from my permanent secretary at all times. As Business Secretary I will continue to act with the public interest in mind, as the public has every right to expect.

Lord Mandelson

London SW1"

I leave it to you to ask the relevant questions...

*Just a quick question, Peter Mandelson became EU Commmissioner for Trade in November 2004, what was the date of his first meeting with Mr Deripaska?

Friday, 24 October 2008

Well worth a listen to the start of the programme as Lord Adonis tries to defend the indefensible about Gordon Brown's responsibility for the economic situation and Lord Fowler and Lord Digby Jones and Jonathan Dimbleby seem incredulous. Listen online or on the Saturday repeat and prepare to be staggered...

Further to this and this it seems as though Pipex's POP3 service is now back to near normal levels, for how long is anyone's guess however.

But the story does not end there, Pipex have been doing some maintenance on their mailboxes service which has meant that users have been unable to access their mailbox configurations for 5 or so days. This afternoon Pipex proudly announce that:

"My Service Status - Time of Report:24/10/2008 at 17:30:18 Last Update: 24/10/2008 at 17:30:18

Report

Pipex Manage Mailboxes is now live with newly added functionality to allow for the addition of anti-virus and anti-spam on your mailboxes."

Pipex users will not be surprised to learn that the mailboxes function does not currently have "added functionality" unless being unable to view or change existing mailboxes or add new mailboxes is considered to be "added functionality". The saga continues...

The Mail, amongst many, report that US police are preparing for the possibility of riots across America if the White House vote goes against Obama. Bob Parks, an internet columnist and black Republican candidate for state representative in Massachusetts said

"If Barack Obama loses there will be another large group of people who will assume the election was stolen from him. This will be an opportunity for people who want to commit mischief".

Don't you just love the left, if their candidate wins (however questionably) they expect the losers to "suck it up", but if their candidate loses then it must be due to foul play.

"The one thing most grandparents have in common is that they have the most wonderful grandchildren in the world - so clever, so handsome, so pretty, ever so precious. Even if you are still unsure of your path in life, and even if your parents and friends occasionally wonder about you, your grandma and grandpa love you and have faith in you.

That is your weapon! "Precious" needs to get on the phone and say, "Grandpa, Grandma, I am asking you to vote for Barack Obama..."

Hope, change and emotional blackmail - well done the Obama campaign for plumbing new depths...

After a "ghastly, dehumanised moron"* killed off the much loved Routemaster London bus and replaced it with the more fare-dodger friendly bendy-bus, it was a relief when Boris Johnson was elected London Mayor on a platform (pun intended) of introducing a new style Routemaster.

Today I read in the Standard that plans are further advanced than I thought. This would be more cheery news if I didn't have this nagging thought that London and the UK will be too broke to afford any new buses by 2009, but we can dream I suppose...

*In a speech on 2 December 2003, Mr Livingstone pledged: "I will save the Routemaster." In 2001, he said: "Only some ghastly, dehumanised moron would want to get rid of the Routemaster." In December 2005, Mr Livingstone got rid of the Routemaster from normal service.

The Register reports the case of an Australian call centre employee, Kyle Doyle, his sickie and how he posted a little too much on Facebook for his comfort... "Kyle Doyle is not going to work, fuck it I'm still trashed. SICKIE WOO!"

I am confused; Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and the rest of the Labour cabal along with their propaganda wing the BBC have been telling us that the recession is due to the sub-prime problems in the US which have spread out and affected the rest of the world.

If this is true then why has the £ lost 8% in value against the $US this week alone? Do you think that maybe the truth is somewhat different and that there are more home-grown problems than we are being told?

Do you remember Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling trying to convince us that the UK is uniquely placed to weather the global recession, don't hear so much of that now do you? Anyone still believe it?

The rumours are flying about Peter Mandelson and whether he has been as squeaky clean in his official dealings as we would all expect him to be. I have no way of knowing the truth but if you want to acquaint yourself with the news that the BBC will not be reporting then I suggest looking at these sites: 1. The Standard which will bring you up to speed on Peter Mandelson's apparent problems with date recall regarding his meetings with Mr Deripaska

2. The Daily mail which will introduce you to the Montenegro angle and more links with Mr Deripaska and the Rothschilds

3. Guido Fawkes will be covering as many of these stories as he can and the comments following his articles may also be of interest (the usual disclaimers apply). On Guido's site you will also find an interesting piece about Peter Mandelson and a visit to another billionaire's yacht.

Update:The BBC have finally realised that there may be a story about Peter Mandelson that they will have to cover, even if rather quietly, hence this piece that includes some way down this admission:

"Earlier this month, the European Commission cleared Lord Mandelson of any inappropriate links with the tycoon, whose business benefited from a December 2005 decision to ease import duties on Russian aluminium.

But the Guardian says officials who cleared Lord Mandelson had not been aware of a previous meeting between the two men, before he took up his post as trade commissioner.

The newspaper says they had been seen together by a journalist at a Moscow restaurant in October 2004."

I trust that the BBC will remind Peter Mandelson or any of his defenders of this fact whenever they try the "an EU enquiry cleared Mr Mandelson" defence.

The BBC being the BBC the article continues with a standard Labour piece of misdirection but I think we would expect no more.

Further to my earlier post it appears that Pipex have moved POP3 servers and the login details have changed from the odd Pipex format to the more standard one:

"Due to a recent change on the mail server platform, customers may be unable to access their mail, it is now required to make an amendment to the format of your username, please replace the % sign with an @ sign when logging on to mail. e.g. If you are currently using - username%dsl.pipex.com or username%dial.pipex.com Please replace it with - username@dsl.pipex.com or username@dial.pipex.com."

Nice of Pipex to tell its x thousand users in advance!

You can follow a thread on this matter here, thanks to my correspondent anonymous at 09:06 this morning.

This news may make you think again, Khaleej Times Online reports that:

"Spain’s remains a target for Al-Qaeda four years after the Madrid bombings that killed 191 people, the intelligence service said in a report quoted by a Spanish newspaper Monday.

“The counter-terrorist activities by the state security forces since the March 11, 2004 attacks shows that Spain remains a target of the Al-Qaeda network and its allies as well as a source of human resources,” the intelligence service said in a report, a copy of which was seen by the El Pais daily.

“Al-Qaeda has not lost sight of the global jihad and, in exchanges with the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), it has told them to quickly attack local targets and reminds them that their real goal is to cross into Al Andalus,” it said.

Al Andalus is the Arabic name for the parts of the Iberian peninsula that were under Muslim, or Moorish, control for almost 800 years until the late 15th century.

The GSPC last year changed its name to Al-Qaeda’s Branch in the Islamic Maghreb.

In September 2007, Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri called for Al Andalus to be restored to the Islamic world, saying the first step needs to be the “cleansing’ of Spaniards and French from the Maghreb.

The Al-Qaeda inspired bombings on four packed commuter trains on March 11, 2004 killed 191 people and wounded hundreds of others.

Spanish courts last year ordered 21 people jailed for life over the attacks. Four have since been acquitted after appeals.

Spanish police last week arrested 12 north Africans suspected of links to the bombings."

Parts of Pipex's POP3 email system went down yesterday and as of this morning does not appear to be fixed yet. This morning I logged onto to their website and found a link I hadn't seen before "To see if there are any problems with the Pipex Service, please click on this link.", sounds useful... Unfortunately clicking on the link only brings up a 404 - "Not Found - The requested URL /service-status/ was not found on this server."

Thursday, 23 October 2008

Further to my post about Joe Biden's prediction that if elected, Barack Obama will be tested by an international crisis within his first six months in power, here is a report of Sarah Palin's response and you can see the video below...

From The Scotsman's report on Sarah Brown's trip to campaign for her husband's party in Cardenden comes this extract:

"Then came the most extraordinary piece of control freakery of the day. "I want you guys on the green," said the man from the Labour Party. "There will be six or seven guys with guns who will keep you away from her. You may be shot and then it won't be my problem.""

Democracy, freedom of the press, freedom of speech - just three concepts that appear to have passed this Labour Government by.

Phil Woolas was pulled from appearing on tonight's BBC Question Time programme, by whom it is unclear although rumours abound that it was because of his recent comments on immigration and disestablishing the Church of England. Whatever the reason, the Labour Government offered Tony McNulty instead but the BBC have plumped for Lord Hattersley instead. It was of course Lord Hattersley who dropped out of several editions of "Have I Got News For YOU" only to replaced the final time by a lookalike tub of lard.

Microsoft are about to release an emergency security update to plug a vulnerability which could allow an internet worm to be spread via a computer without the user doing anything. This update is rated as critical for users of Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003 and the less severe rating of "important" for users of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. The patch is scheduled for release at 10.00am Pacific Time (6pm BST) with a webcast 3 hours later to explain the issues. Here is Microsoft's current explanation; useful?

This goes to David Cameron who is reported by the BBC to have made the claim that Gordon Brown is "playing politics" over the George Osborne donation row. Duh, you think David? Or more traditionally, "No shit, Sherlock"

Playing politics is what Gordon Brown does, he will try and sucker his opponents into bipartisanship but will knife them as soon as he feels able.

Back in June, July and September I blogged about Barack Obama's lack of oratorial skills when his teleprompter breaksdown or he has to answer a question without a script. Today I see on Biased-BBC that a BBC reporter has finally seen that this is a story and printed it..... of course they haven't, don't be ridiculous - it is another attack on John McCain's oratorical skills, because in BBC land Barack Obama is beyond criticism. The BBC's bias towards Barack Oabama in the US and the Labour party in the UK has gone beyond simple bias, they are now blatantly electioneering - can anything be done to stop them?

If you want to see the real Barack Obama in action then do take a look at my earlier articles I linked above.

If you want a laugh then take a look at from IowaHawk, it will make you think - so obviously won't appeal to any Barack Oabama supporters.

One of the pigeons was caught near a rose water production plant in the city of Kashan in Isfahan province, the report cited an unnamed informed source as saying, adding that some metal rings and invisible strings were attached to the bird.

"Early this month, a black pigeon was caught bearing a blue-coated metal ring, with invisible strings," the source was quoted as saying of the second pigeon.

The source gave no further description of the pigeons, neither their current status nor what their fate will be.

Natanz is home to Iran's heavily-bunkered underground uranium enrichment plant, which is not far from Kashan...."

I am most intrigued by the "invisible strings", how do they know that there were "invisible strings", how did they spot them?

Where in the World - visitors since 16 May 2009

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